Most businesses in France accept credit and debit cards as payment. Generally speaking, the best way to go is to withdraw cash from an ATM machine (“un distributeur”), located outside of most banks and post offices. The majority of them will have instructions in English as well as French.  Debit cards will incur fewer fees than credit cards, so try not to rely solely on a credit card for your cash needs. Be sure to remember your PIN number! This method of withdrawing funds is far more convenient and less expensive than cashing travelers’ checks.

Before your departure, be sure to notify your bank as well as your credit card company in order to prevent a hold being placed on your card when foreign transactions appear, and to find out what kind of overseas fees they charge. Most likely there will be a 1-3% withdrawal fee per transaction, so you might consider withdrawing larger amounts less frequently and keeping the funds stashed at your apartment or well concealed in a small money belt under your clothing.

Some companies offer lower international fees than others — and some don’t charge any at all. If you’re going on a long trip, do some research and consider taking out a card just for international purchases. Capital One has a particularly good reputation for no-fee international transactions on both its credit cards and its debit cards linked to a checking account.

If possible, consider bringing more than one major bank card, from different banks, because sometimes an approval for a purchase by credit card will be inexplicably denied, while a credit card from another bank is accepted for the same transaction. Also, different credit card companies charge different fees. Online banking will help you be able to keep track of the fees being charged to you, as well as the exchange rate you’re getting.

French credit cards use a microchip. To make a purchase with a chip-and-PIN card, the cardholder inserts the card into a slot in the payment machine, then enters a PIN (like using a debit card in the US) while the card stays in the slot. The chip inside the card authorizes the transaction; the cardholder doesn’t sign a receipt.

American-style cards have been rejected by some automated payment machines in France. This is especially common with machines at train and subway stations, toll roads, parking garages, luggage lockers, bike-rental kiosks, and self-serve gas pumps. For example, after a long flight into Charles de Gaulle Airport, you find you can’t use your credit card at the ticket machine for the train into Paris. Or, while
driving on a Sunday afternoon, you discover that the automated gas station only accepts chip and PIN cards.

In most of these situations, a cashier is nearby who can process your magnetic-stripe card manually by swiping it and having you sign the receipt the old-fashioned way. Many payment machines take cash; remember you can always use an ATM to withdraw cash with your magnetic-stripe debit card.

Most restaurants and shops that serve Americans will gladly accept your US credit card. During the transaction, if the merchant refuses your card or seems to have trouble, ask them to swipe your card, or point out the magnetic stripe and indicate that you will have to sign for the charge. “Avec cette carte, je dois signer”. Or: “C’est une carte étrangère, il faut une signature”.

It is always a good idea to have some cash in the local currency. For the best rates, wait till you can withdraw cash from the local distributeur rather than at foreign exchange kiosks at travel locations.